Combined Therapy Seems Best bet for Children Suffering from Anxiety

Children with disabling anxiety are most likely to respond to a combination of talk therapy and antidepressant medication, according to the findings of a recent study.

The study is the largest till-date research on anxiety among children and adolescents and has been financed by the government agency National Institute of Mental Health. The study included 500 children from the age 7 to 17 who were suffering from chronic and disabling anxiety over separation from parents, social situations or other issues. The researchers divided the patients into four groups- one receiving the anti-depressant Zoloft, another receiving talk therapy, the third getting a combined treatment and the fourth receiving dummy pills and monitored by a psychiatrist.

The results of the study revealed that after 12 weeks, around 80 percent of the children receiving combined treatment had either overcome their anxiety or shown remarkable improvement in their condition. On the other hand, 60 percent of those on talk therapy had improved while of the children receiving only anti-depressants, 55 percent seemed to be better.

The findings of the study are extremely crucial considering that treatment of chronic anxiety among children is wrought with uncertainty and psychiatrist estimate that as much as half of the young patients do not improve much from treatment.